The 20 Best Hot Rods Of all Time

August 10, 2017

The California Kid

Base car: 1934 Ford Coupe

Yet another star of the small screen, the California Kid was featured in the TV movie of the same name, and became an instant hit among rodders. It’s the creation of Pete Chapouris, who built his first car at the age of 15 in 1955, and his experience shone through. It used classic hot rod techniques to create a truly iconic rod. The roof was already chopped when he bought it, but Chapouris put a lot more work into it. A 302 Ford V8 was fitted under the hood, an FMX gearbox was installed, among a host of other changes, and, of course, it was resprayed with a spectacular black and flame paintjob by Manuel Reyes.

Some work was also done to the car for the movie, including adding sidepipes, the California Kid decals, and replacing the car’s Halibrand wheels with red steel ones. The love that the car’s owners have had for it is evident: over 100,000 miles can be read on the odometer. It’s now owned by the Jerry Slover, who also bought Pete and Jim Jacobs’ business in 1986.

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